President's Column: The POD Network's Role in Advocacy
In the fall, POD's Core Committee (Board of Directors) met and had a rich discussion about how the organization’s bylaws define advocacy. As an outcome, Core approved an expanded definition of advocacy for the organization and a process for issuing statements on behalf of the POD Network. This column by POD President Mary Wright describes the changes, how they were recently applied by POD leadership, and how this effort was strengthened by individuals engaging in their own advocacy efforts. To read the column, please click HERE.
Resources for Supporting Our Campuses in Politically Fraught Times As faculty developers, we cannot control all aspects of the teaching and learning environment. Sometimes local, national, and international events send shock waves through our communities that most of us cannot ignore and that all of us—students, faculty, and staff—experience in different ways. Although we can never predict how to respond in such moments, here are a handful of resources that might help with framing conversations both in and outside of the classroom—click HERE.
Membership News & Updates We are pleased to share the POD 2017 Membership Meeting Report, which outlines key activities in support of the POD Network 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. Additionally, if you'd like to gain a better understanding of the data and trends surrounding the POD Network members, please review the visually represented information shared in the Membership Committee Update. In other exciting news, we are pleased to share the outstanding work of our POD members and to highlight their accomplishments! Therefore, this month we would like to feature the following:
POD member John Zubizarreta, Director of Faculty Development for the past twenty years at Columbia College, South Carolina was selected by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of ten Classroom Trailblazers in its special "Innovators" issue of October 27, 2017.
POD member Linda B. Nilson and her colleagues celebrate the release of two new books for 2018.
Online Teaching at Its Best: Merging Instructional Design with Teaching and Learning Research by Linda B. Nilson and Ludwika A. Goodson, Wiley, 2018 (currently available). This book provides practical, real-world advice grounded in both the instructional design and the teaching and learning literature, two surprisingly independent bodies of research. It will help you ensure that your online classes achieve rigor and excellence in teaching and assessment and equip your students to succeed in the next challenge.
Creating Engaging Discussions: Strategies for "Avoiding Crickets" in Any Size Classroom and Online by Jennifer H. Herman and Linda B. Nilson, Stylus, 2018 (available in April). After reading this book, you will be able to overcome common problems in classroom and online discussions and facilitate deep, meaningful learning, whatever the class size, and assess a discussion’s effectiveness. Eight case studies explain how instructors addressed challenges and assessed the results and then offer practical recommendations for implementation.
POD Live! POD Live provides a series of thought-provoking presentations and conversations by leading educational developers. This month features Laura Cruz, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at Tennessee Tech University. In this video she presents, "Scholar-Practioner: Transforming What You Do Into Scholarship".
Upcoming Events & News from the POD Office The POD Network wanted to extend sincere appreciation to everyone who made a financial donation in 2017 and thank you for your support! Also, please be sure to check out the latest Thriving in the Academe, a join publication of the National Education Association (NEA) and the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education, which appears in NEA's Higher Education Advocate.
The POD Network offers its members many opportunities for continuous learning and connection. If you are interested in connecting with colleagues to grow and learn together, please consider joining a Special Interest Group (SIG) or explore our Standing Committees.
Furthermore, new opportunities are available to connect with the amazing colleagues you met at the Fall conference - if you'd like to keep or build upon those relationships, please read more about the POD Peer Mentoring Group - there is still time to join! We also encourage you to save dates for the following:
The mission of POD is to provide a community for scholars and practitioners who advance teaching and learning through faculty and organizational development.
Editor, Amber Dailey-Hebert (Park University) Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education P.O. Box 3318 Nederland, Colorado 80466 U.S.A. Copyright 2018, The POD Network, All Rights Reserved.
